Period Styling

Our own showroom is an adaptive reuse of an 1850's brick house, complete with sloping floors, tin ceilings and the usual obstacles like cast iron radiators and tall windows. We not only know old houses very well, but we also truly enjoy working with them, challenges and all. Click here to learn more about the history of 24 South Street; our showroom was once the home of Vaudeville stars!

Whether you have a genuine old house, or are building a brand new one, we offer a special expertise in architectural theme design for clients interested in creating a period look. From selecting cabinetry and countertops, to faucets and moldings -- and everything in between -- we can help you put together a great looking new kitchen that suits both you, and your house.

Not sure what style your house is? We can help you “read” your house, whether it dates from Paul Revere to Post-Modern!

Favorite Places & Links

As part of our interest in old houses, we maintain an extensive library, attend seminars, and tour old house museums wherever we find them. Many of the molding combinations, bracket designs, and other unique features to be found scattered throughout our portfolio, are ideas that we have adapted from one or another of these resources. Some of our all-time favorite places to visit can be located via the following links:

There was a wonderful traveling exhibit of seven historic kitchen vignettes called America's Kitchens, originally organized by Historic New England, which began its national tour right here in New Hampshire, sponsored in part by Vintage Kitchens. The exhibition was accompanied by a book of the same name by Nancy Carlisle, Melinda Talbot Nasardinov and Jennifer Pustz.

America's Kitchens showcases the important role of kitchens throughout American history. Based on extensive research and authentic historical kitchens, the exhibition and book feature period kitchens, artifacts, photographs, and the personal stories that bring them to life.

(Illustration from the NHHS website)

Vintage Kitchens is proud to be a supporter of The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, the state-wide organization whose goals are to preserve New Hampshire 's historic buildings, landscapes, and communities through leadership, advocacy, and education.

Historic New England maintains over 35 properties throughout New England, spanning from the Pilgrim Century to the 20th Century, including many in the region from Portsmouth , NH to Newburyport , MA . Historic New England was formerly known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, or SPNEA for short.

With our personal special fondness for Shaker design, it is quite a treat to have Canterbury Shaker Village so nearby, and so beautifully preserved! There are a number of other wonderful Shaker museums scattered around New England and upstate New York, and of course collections of Shaker articles in many major museums. No matter how well the Shakers are covered in books and on the internet, seeing these beautiful pieces in person immediately gives you a much stronger connection to the "hearts to work and hands to God" spirit in which these pieces were devotedly crafted.

Portsmouth, NH is rich with architectural heritage, and where better to begin than Strawberry Banke.

Old House Journal has long been a wonderful resource for both ideas and supplies for old house aficionados. Although they were recently sold to a large publishing house, they still have a lot to offer—though perhaps in a more mercantile package.

Brought to you by the folks who used to publish Old House Journal, Old House Interiors does a beautiful job with, well, old house interiors!

Designed and built by the brothers Greene & Greene in Pasadena CA , in 1908, the Gamble House, complete with all of its wonderful custom light fixtures and furniture, is a masterpiece of design and craftsmanship in the Arts & Crafts Style.

Designed by the famous Boston architect H.H. Richardson, the Glessner House is a triumph of late Victorian residential design, foreshadowing the dawn of the Modern Age. It includes an absolutely incredible collection of original Eastlake Style furnishings—including several pieces that were originally from the Glessner's summer estate in NH!

Old Sturbridge Village, located just off the Mass Pike in Sturbridge MA, is a 'living' museum that is carefully restored to recreate the authentic feel of an 1830's rural New England mill village.

Located near the shore of Lake Champlain, just south of Burlington, VT, the Shelburne Museum not only contains over 30 beautifully restored old buildings, it houses one of the finest collections of artifacts of Americana—from country store items, to Amish quilts, to old hand tools.